The most common way of transporting construction equipment from the manufacturer to customers located in countries on other continents is by seagoing vessel. Typically, backhoe loaders and similar pieces of equipment are driven into the vessel hold and arranged as close together as practicable so as not to cause damage during loading, unloading or transport. In some instances, open top containers are employed which receive one or more pieces of equipment and are then loaded into the hold of the vessel.
Charges for the transport of items by vessel are based on weight, or on the volume of the hold of the vessel that such items occupy. The hold volume is determined by the surface area of the floor of the hold and its overall height. The problem with shipping backhoe loaders and similar pieces of equipment is that while they may be arranged in close proximity to one another along the floor of the vessel hold, all of the volume of the hold above them is wasted space. Since vessel owners usually charge according to what generates the most revenue, manufacturers of construction equipment normally must pay according to the total volume of the hold located above their equipment even though it occupies space along only the floor area.
Enclosed cargo containers have been employed for some time as a means of efficiently utilizing the total volume within the holds of vessels. Containers of this type may be stacked on top of one another and therefore fill much more of the total volume of the hold compared to items which cannot be stacked, such as construction equipment. While it would be advantageous to transport construction equipment within enclosed cargo containers, their dimensions are such that under current practices backhoe loaders and similar equipment do not fit therein without disassembly of at least a part of such equipment.